New Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott 11.45PM: Australian Labour party leader and ex-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's promise that a re-elected Labor government would introduce a bill to legalise same-sex marriage within 100 days of taking office will not be put to the test. In a last minute change of policy Labor decided to back marriage equality while it's National-Liberal coalition opponents remain opposed. However, Labor's infighting in recent years and changes of leadership appear to have hurt the party and it has suffered a resounding defeat in tonight's federal elections. The incoming Prime Minister, Tony Abbott,is a committed Christian who has dismissed calls for marriage equality as a 'fad' and says he does not believe gay marriage is inevitable. However, he has a lesbian sister who has hinted Abbott's anti-homosexuality stance may be softening slightly. Trying to reach a target of 76 electorates to be able to form a government, National-Liberal has 81 seats, with Labor achieving just 49 and the gay-friendly Greens 2. Just 17 seats currently remain in doubt. In the glbti hubs of Sydney and Melbourne no significant changes have occurred. In the Sydney electorates of Grayndler, Sydney and Kingsford-Smith remain Labor while Wentworth remains Liberal. In the city of Melbourne the electorate of Melbourne Ports remains Labour while the Melbourne electorate remains Green. In the generally socially progressive Australian Capital Territory and Canberra the two electorates have remained convincingly Labor.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 7th September 2013 - 11:36pm